


The Most Special Doggo Of All

by Mimiga



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-14
Updated: 2016-10-14
Packaged: 2018-08-22 10:17:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8282332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mimiga/pseuds/Mimiga
Summary: Young girl cherishes five doggos at once. That's as many as five ones, and that's adorable.





	

The fields coinciding the path of Route 7 grew particularly breezy as the Kalosian summer began its eventual descent into a cold autumn. Yet it was so gradual that those who scampered and played among the fields' trimmed grasses, or within the large, gentle body of water beside them, payed little heed to these insignificant changes. Pokemon of all shapes and sizes continued to laze about or unleash their full energy as they pleased in this place, from the drifting Jumpluff of an accomplished strategist on vacation to the few disgruntled Salamence of wayward dragon trainers motioning to butt heads and establish dominance. Such was the comfortable way days went by in the largest daycare in the country. The pokemon left there would be given good meals, proper care by the fledgling trainers and trained professionals alike, and only the stresses of their own volition. There were few places in the world that any pokemon staying there could think of that were quite as carefree. 

This quiet morning would soon find its next arrivals as a young woman-- in training to become a breeder-- stuck her head out of a doorway, having just finished up her early routine with the pokemon she had been assigned to for the month. Out from the door and between her feet came rushing a stream of five boisterous Fennekin into the field-- all shouting over themselves while pushing their way into the open, and all yet unnamed. The woman gave a warm smile at their adorable clamoring before retreating back into the building, likely to prepare for her classes in addition to whatever mischief they would cause. She didn't have much longer to be with this particular group, but for the time being, the fire types who had been forced to sit still for so long could finally prance and jump around as they pleased and see her when they returned. 

The first of the Fennekin would quickly find and climb up a short tree to gaze out from within, only being such because they were the haughtiest of them all and knew for a fact that they was born first. The second and third were too busy rolling around trying to pounce and pin one another, following loosely behind the first to the base of the trunk without at all letting up on the game. The fourth Fennekin had eaten too much that morning and couldn't quite keep pace with the rest of them, occasionally trying to join the playfulness and often instantaneously failing as a result of their sluggishness. And finally was the fifth, who was too lost in thought to participate in the game and instead chose to lay within the roots of the tree and brood. 

"Hey, knock it off! You keep cheating!" the second Fennekin shouted nearby before promptly being tackled to the ground by the third while they were distracted. The struggle hardly lasted a moment longer before a victory was declared and the second sibling was unleashed again. "No, that one didn't count!" 

"Why wouldn't it?" said the fourth as they stayed their distance from the fighting and started waiting for another similar opportunity to rise again. 

"Because you can't ju- Agh!" 

The third wasted no time in strengthening their lead, plowing into the distracted sibling and claiming another point towards their side. "Ha! You didn't call time out, you're still in play!" 

"Will you both knock it off!?" screamed the first Fennekin down to the rest of them, nearly falling off the tree limb in the process. "It's hard to concentrate with you all shouting your heads off over something so dumb. And besides, you're supposed to call time out no matter what." 

"Then TIME OUT!" 

Motion finally ceased as the game's rules bid. Out of breath but still restless, those who participated fell to the grass and shook debris from their fur either triumphantly or, in two's case, while grumbling to themselves. Some semblance of peace was achieved at that point, where already they began to forget the conflicts of the minute past and prepared to start jumping on and batting each others faces once more. The very first and last of the Fennekin continued to sit contently and look out into the fields of pokemon, one thinking themselves above such simple games despite at times participating with adorable vigor, and the other simply too contemplative to care at the moment. Nevertheless, the mostly pleasant morning rolled by just the same as the clouds were herded by strong winds. 

As play devolved into passivity, the base of the tree eventually became crowded with many more resting bodies. Aside from the occasional idle exchange or observation, most would simply wait in silence for their energy to return so that the mock battle might continue. In the mean time, it was much more entertaining to witness from afar an outbreak of dark type politics take hold of the field's northern corner. Even if what was being snarled between the pokemon couldn't carry over the distance, it was still an amusing activity to see the ranks that formed and the social backs that were stabbed that day. But young as the siblings were, none of the five had an attention span that lasted longer than a few minutes at best. 

"You think we're supposed to get trainers soon? I overheard that lady who's been playing with us is going to leave soon." asked the fifth Fennekin out of the blue, their ears at attention from concentration. 

"We all heard that, dummy. Our ears are just as big as yours," replied the first from atop their branch. "And hopefully not. This student lady is super nice, way better than any of the other old humans that take care of us. When they tell her to learn something else, she'll take me with her anyway since I'm her favorite." 

The second interjected soon after. "Wait, but how can you be her favorite? She fed you last of all of us. If anything, it means I'm her favorite because I got breakfast before anyone else." 

"What are you, dumb? You're supposed to save the best for last," The one in the tree shot back readily, their hanging tail swishing erratically back and forth through the air. "And you're supposed to get the worst out of the way before anything else. That makes you her least favorite." 

The argument drew from the strength most had been recovering by laying down, and rather than continuing their game, the Fennekin put all their energy into proving which was the indisputable favorite of their caretaker. Many examples were given, most coming down to which of them received the most pets recently or the irrelevant order in which they had been given a certain attention. With as many of them as there were, each one had a tale ready of such an event and believed full well in the fantastical way they spun it. None were ready to back down from their claims. The nice lady seemed to think all of them as her favorite and least favorite at once, but that couldn't be true! And it simply wouldn't do that a conclusion be reached without a single one of them on top. 

Eventually and reluctantly enough, a pact had been forged between the five of them. That night, they would once and for all determine who was the most liked by staging a competition. The one who could most charm the lady before they were sent to sleep for the night was ultimately the absolute favorite and would be chosen to go with her once she was meant to leave. Not a single one to be outdone, the Fennekin immediately all spread out in a radius around the tree to come up with a sound plan to achieve this goal, with the exception of the first since they had already laid claim to their branch and refused to move. Like the cliques of dark types beyond their hearing, they would all get to work scheming against one another. 

With plots being hatched as the lethargic sun inched through the sky, the race had begun. The first of the fire types, knowing full well that they were the smartest and most talented of the group, had only needed to get the nice lady to openly admit the obvious favorite. Because after all, who wouldn't want to take with them the Fennekin with the highest potential? Everyone had to be present during the confession, that much was one of the easier parts. The only question was-- how would they achieve such a reaction in the first place? Would demonstrating control over flames superior to any of their siblings suffice? Yeah.. yeah! That was it! Like.. like blowing rings of smoke! Or shooting fire through those rings of smoke! The rest could hardly spit out embers by this point, and surely the most impressive of them all would have the best chance at winning. 

The second and third Fennekin tried hard to come up with their own plans, but would end up sneaking behind a bush in discussion of how difficult it was before accidentally managing to form a plot together. It was from their combined efforts that they figured out the caretaker most appreciated when the siblings were kind to one another instead of resorting to the usual bickering. It gave her less work, and the most obedient of them would seem like the easiest to train, and thus the best choice for her to take. And if there were two of them that were outstanding, why not take them both? It was often that trainers had two of the same species on their teams, plenty other pokemon who stayed at the daycare said so! It was just a matter of acting exceedingly considerate to one another and convincing the lady that they were an inseparable pair at the same time, as surely the most kind and cooperative of them all would have the best chances at winning. 

While the fourth did not wander too far from the tree in their pondering, it was from an idea that happened upon them much more quickly than it did most. They deduced that a trainer most valued the bond between them and their pokemon, otherwise humans wouldn't choose to become a trainer in the first place. Part of that bond from the pokemon's side would be to make sure that their human was as happy and healthy as was possible. Without selflessness, how could any of them expect the lady to choose them over another? It was a hard decision to make no matter what, but the Fennekin would sacrifice their dinner and instead offer it to the caretaker in an attempt to express that bond. Only then would they stand out from the rest and have visibly cared for her well-being, as surely the most generous of them all would have the best chances at winning. 

And finally, the introspective fifth Fennekin would come to lay still in the shade of the tree and continue thinking, just outside the range of vision of the first. Unlike the others, they would wonder most about what the rest of them were coordinating rather than imagining up a grand scheme themselves. Some were likely dreaming up something flashy and noticeable, others perhaps planning to take a conniving route that would undermine the attempts of someone else. Their caretaker was probably going to figure out that something was up sooner or later, she might even become skeptical and harder to convince as a result. How could one of them manage to please her enough to be proven her favorite, and yet still seem beyond the strange insistence of their siblings? Being the most honest would let them stand out while everyone else was trying to be special, right? They just had to express their affection rather than try to be something more, for surely the most genuine of them all would have the best chances at winning. 

A day which they would have carelessly spent prancing about the field and enjoying the sun was dedicated solely to preparing for this incredible competition. Those who would tirelessly bound after one another had instead put their heads to walls and thought hard about coming possibilities. The already contemplative and sedentary began to pace back and forth to get the gears of their minds working faster. Never before had a situation felt so serious, and all about this girl who hadn't even been here for more than a month-- but today, she was the most important human in the world. Everything they could think of that she openly liked or showed amusement toward, all of that information was mentally sifted through while the lively daycare community bustled and the sunlight slowly shifted angles. There were only so many epiphanies to have as seconds ebbed into the same melting minutes that peeled away entire hours. 

Before they knew it, it had fast come time to head back inside and tackle the much-anticipated second half of the day. They were called back by the same voice that was on their minds, and like the gunshot at the start of a race, it had begun. All five Fennekin clamored over themselves rushing towards the open door and the homely woman standing within. From the waning light they piled inside, far too enthusiastically tackling the routine of lining themselves up to be accounted for, though not to a particularly amazing effect. While the first had too much pride not to immediately put themselves in place with nose held high, and the next two had formed a not-so-secret alliance and took their places readily enough, the fourth had tripped on a step on the way up and hurt themselves while the fifth tried to distract the woman by rubbing against her leg. It took a good minute to calm them down before everyone was finally in place. 

But this was the opportunity the first Fennekin knew would come. They were all gathered up with the caretaker checking over them, it was the perfect time to demonstrate their prowess and prove once and for all that they were the obvious favorite. Just before the siblings were dismissed from the formation and the caretaker would wander off to eventually prepare a bath, the fire type reared their head back, sucking in a deep breath to fuel the imminent birth of flames with optimal oxygen. Smoke poured from their nostrils as a comparatively great stream of fire emerged out from the back of their throat and billowed into the air. The short display of power quickly cleared and left only a dark cloud in its wake, the Fennekin's expression took on a sly grin. There was no way any of their siblings could manage to maintain such an impressive flame. 

"Hey hey hey! What did I tell you about fire in the house?" Instead of the decisive praise they were hoping for, the woman would give the Fennekin a dissuading glare and stern voice. "I KNOW you know better, you've had plenty of time to play while you were outside. Save it for tomorrow." It was unbelievable, all they could do is bow their heads and tilt their ears back in defeat. That was supposed to unveil the undeniable proof of who was the masterful prodigy of the siblings, and all it earned was a scolding and the snickers of those same few fire types. There had to be something else they could do that would have the same effect! It was only a matter of time before the others began to enact their plans and accrue a lead. 

With the absence of their caretaker came an inability to achieve much else, a tense air filling the room as a mandatory lull began. While the first of them sat in a corner and was forced to revise their plan, having expected an immediate victory, the rest went to looking over theirs and trying their hardest to find any similar holes. The second and third whispered to one another ideas in showering the other in artificial acts of kindness, occasionally raising their voices as to who would be the one receiving and who would be giving. The fourth had no reason to panic or plead, as their plan was so specific and certain that only once dinner came around would they have to worry. And without the person present to express their desires, the last Fennekin could only sit still and wait patiently for her to return. 

The sky outside had grown quite the orange tint when she finally did return, surprised to see that each of the siblings were almost completely silent and still minding their own business. This kind of peace was almost unheard of, enough that the woman actually grew worrisome and looked over them all a second time just in case something was wrong. Not paying much heed to the pair trying too hard to be conspicuous while cleaning one another, or the fifth rubbing against her leg and getting little more than a pat between the ears in response, they were rounded up and finally herded towards where a bath had been drawing. To the notice of them all, she seemed a little more flustered than was usual, like there was something wrong. The intensity of the competition prevented much thought to be given about the strange behavior. 

This was when the first conflict would erupt between the second and third, as only one would bear to play in the water while the other despised it ferociously. The barrier between them was literal. Just outside the porcelain wall of the tub pouted the second Fennekin before their caretaker knelt down to address the pouting. It was a routine problem, so the startling efficiency of her practiced words and gentle tone were more than enough to get the unmanageable pokemon's attention again. The Fennekin instantly recalled what it had been focusing so hard on after her tender coercion, going wide-eyed and quickly scaling up and over the white wall. Waiting for them in the shallow water was the glare of their partner in crime. They were supposed to be the most kind AND cooperative! Refusing to take a bath was the kind of thing that would put them behind the others in the lady's eyes! 

While the pair forgot their objective once more and began to fight with one another by splashing water, the rest would begrudgingly allow themselves to be soaked and rinsed. The caretaker spoke up above her reassuring mumble. "Oh wow, you guys are a lot more clean than usual. Did none of you find any puddle of mud to roll around in today?" They simply had no time to get dirty, there was far too much for their little minds to process and still have the capacity to run around. For now, they would allow themselves to shiver away at the cold air above the soapy surface, biding time until the next opportunity arose. With the exception of the fifth, who continued being aggressively friendly to the woman's hands while she tried to clean their other siblings. 

Once finally picked up and removed from the water, each would quiver with chill regardless of the desperate schemes brewing in their heads. Between several warm layers of towel they dived, rubbing as much of the moisture away in their coats as possible with the absorbant fabrics. Being a fire type meant that they should spend as little time wet as possible, and she didn't want any of her Fennekin getting sick or hurt. Not to the knowledge of her superiors, but the sandwich of towels was placed atop the heater for just a split second to gather warmth. The results always had them sedated long enough to allow the swiftest of multitasking to take place. In the pleasant dark between the sheets, the first of the siblings began to feel the dire situation sink in that they were running out of time, and the fourth felt only anticipation as theirs was only just around the corner. Finding no reason to maintain the charade with no audience, two and three nipped at one another and scrambled around with their tiny nails clacking against the tiled floor. 

But time was moving too fast, the day was nearly over. The collaborating pair always slid to a halt and pretended to be disinterested in one another whenever their caretaker peered inside. In one such instance where she checked to make sure they safe, the first Fennekin of them all stood atop the porcelain edge of the tub and waited to demonstrate their athletic ability. Of course, trying to back-flip into the air from such a slippery surface just after a bath was a fruitless act of desperation, but the disaster at least pulled the kindly woman back into the room and stole attention away from the fifth. Despite the ache of finding gravity with a hard surface, being wrapped in a towel and in the woman's arms was as comforting as it was proof that they were the favorite. It became a lot easier to relax after realizing that, even if the terrible performance did little to solidify their acrobatic ability, trying at all was probably promising in and of itself. 

It wasn't long after the incident before everything seemed to normalize. Dinner was coming soon, and each one of them became excitable to the point of whipping their heads around at sounds the equivalent of a dropping pin. It appeared as though a truce was in order for the coming meal. At least, for everyone but the fourth sibling, who hadn't so much as attempted to make a move thus far into the evening. In silence their composure quaked and cracked, knowing full well the entirety of their plan was riding on this one action. But maybe all it would take to win this lady over and to be her favorite was a single perfect act? One that actually mattered instead of the numerous and apparently ineffective ones their siblings kept on attempting. As clumsy and lazy as this Fennekin might be compared to the rest, a true show of appreciation would shine brightly above all else. 

And so when dinner came, and everyone else gathered around their bowls like a swarm, four would find a moment of reckoning staring down into theirs, encountering pangs of hunger more powerful than ever. No, this had to be it. Nose to the floor, the Fennekin began to carefully push the bowl towards where the woman was resting in the other room. Too engrossed by the meals before them and unthinking of treachery in this time of peace, none of their siblings could possibly notice the advance even with a scraping noise in the air. Yet another twitch of the stomach made them hesitate. She couldn't possibly need ALL of this food, right? She probably had a dinner of her own to eat somewhere. Sharing could be just as meaningful as giving, perhaps even more so if it was taken a specific way. The fourth Fennekin gave into temptation for just a moment and dunked their nose into the bowl for a few bites. Just that tiny few couldn't hurt any. 

This confliction would recur several times along the journey to the chair she sat in. Turned away and occupied with papers, she knew nothing of their plans until the bowl was already smacking against the leg of her seat. A yip would finally gather the caretakers attention, and upon looking down at what was wrong, four took the opportunity to press the bowl even closer and give another tiny exclamation for emphasis. There was only half the original volume left, much to the guilt in the background of their mind, but this absolutely had to work. Little could they predict the exasperated chuckle the woman would relinquish as she pushed the meal back with her foot. "Oh come on, I already let you have seconds this morning. And you haven't even finish this single bowl yet." 

The Fennekin cried out in objection, though it wasn't the kind their caretaker assumed it was. They pushed the bowl closer again to her feet and whined when it was pushed away. If the meaning of such an offering couldn't get through, this entire gambit was lost and she would only ever think of them as selfish and gluttonous. In a last-ditch attempt to convince her of the act's true intentions, they took some food into their mouth and desperately hopped up onto her lap, willing to feed her themselves if that's what it would take. The attempt didn't get too far, mostly because the food dropped away and they couldn't manage to reach her mouth to begin with, but at the very least there was now an open spot in her lap to rest while she mulled over papers. Any affection was better than admitting defeat and being left behind for any other trainer. There was still half a bowl as well, so maybe she might consider the Fennekin staying in her lap instead of finishing up as having the same message? Though it was quite a tempting thought to jump back down... 

Others began to finish their own meals and scampered over to continue the dire competition. Upon seeing who had been giving the caretaker company this whole time, the fifth sibling became livid and hopped up to occupy the space beside them, trying to push them off onto the floor in a rather obvious fashion. After the second and third were finished fighting over who had gotten the rest of four's bowl, they looked up and both thought that being kind and cooperative meant getting along, as well as making others get along and be kind to one another. Soon there wouldn't be any room at all for the woman to work on her papers, as it was naturally quite difficult to control four Fennekin all pressing into one another atop her legs, falling off and jumping right back on. All except the first, who thought it would be smarter to jump up onto the desk instead. 

She just couldn't manage to get any work in anymore, not with so many pokemon vying for her attention at once. Unsure of what the deal was, and despite the important homework to be completed as soon as possible, the group of Fennekin came first. The caretaker had only moved a few feet before sitting back down onto the floor, still being bombarded with cries of neediness and still being crawled over. Trying to talk to them didn't actually do much more than have the sibling she directed attention towards pushed out of the way for another. It didn't seem like they were fighting maliciously, but something surely went wrong somewhere. She wasn't aware of the mighty competition that was taking place, one that was drawing to an unfinished close with each minute bedtime drew closer. Articulated schemes and techniques went out the window as a panic drew over each of the siblings. One of them HAD to be the favorite, the one that she would choose to keep forever! 

But their energy was something that couldn't last forever, and it promptly began to die down after enough time had passed. Crowded by sluggish fire types, she simply watched and waited for them to run their course and resort to piling on top of her. It was like they really knew she was leaving soon. A hole was wrenched open wider in her heart, as if it needed to be any bigger. Not even the urgency of her papers was convincing enough to disturb this little moment, or any of the Fennekin draped over her shoulders or resting between her crossed legs. They must have figured out somehow-- she might have spoken too loudly about it at one point and they overheard, or another pokemon could have told them while they were out in the field. Either way, it was too late to take it back now. They probably even knew that this was her last day here, or could at least tell from her flighty attitude. 

Everyone in the room was dreading the upcoming part where the Fennekin had to be put to bed. She would even let them stay up a little past their bedtime, just softly talking to them while many of them fought to stay conscious back against the time of night. But even then, there were schedules to keep and routines to maintain, and these kids shouldn't be sleeping on the floor. Just trying to halfheartedly herd them towards where their pokeballs were stored roused them to be fully awake again, bringing back that fear of defeat and being left behind. The Fennekin would pull at her pant legs and actively try to block her from continuing forward, completely tearing into her heart that it was for more than just wanting to stay up. 

"Seriously, guys. You can hardly keep your eyes open for longer than a minute, you need to get to bed." Still they resisted, whining pitifully every step of the way until she just couldn't keep stepping over them anymore. "Knock it off. You're going to start making me cry if you keep this up." Laying on her feet, crawling up her back-- they tried everything to convince her to stay, forgetting entirely about the intense game they were playing just before. All of it was more than enough to bring the woman down to the carpet once more, where the siblings didn't hesitate to crawl on top of her and make sure she didn't stand back up. Her voice would begin to shake as they finally pushed her the full way to the ground. "I know, I know! You don't want me to go, I get that. But there will be lots more nice people in the future!" 

If the Fennekin were listening, they didn't care, continuing to scramble up and duck their heads beneath her chin. "Oh come on. I've got laundry to do at home, and there's a meeting in the morning! You can't.. you guys can't just.." Arguing with herself was useless, there was no winning against all five of them at once. She sighed and took in an armful of them, more conflicted than she had been in years. This really was a choice she should have expected coming over a month ago when she agreed to this program in the first place. Five little Fennekin kids, hardly more than a few months old but practically jumping off the walls every day. All she had to do was look after them in the morning and in the afternoon and it'd be a class as good as skipped, but was this kind of sadness really worth the extra half credit? It's ridiculous, neither she nor the Fennekin were supposed to imprint on one another like this. It was just a short summer thing. 

Nearly all of the kids fell asleep shortly after, bound to the absolution of their adolescent bodies and wooed by the warmth hers gave off. She could have probably put them to bed right now if she were careful enough, but the will just wasn't there to do so. To be freed from this pile meant that tomorrow was going to be exactly as expected. Back to pushing pencils, glaring at paragraphs for hours at a time, and waiting for the results of tests that were painfully uncertain. But here, the only thing that ate at her was whenever one of the kids slipped or got into a fight more nasty than it should have been. Even the constant stress of watching over them was something she could happily accept and embrace. These were her Fennekin, they listened to her more than anyone else that took care of this place. And now she was supposed to just leave these angels? 

Her groan was little more a gentle rumbling in her chest, causing one of the siblings to bury deeper into her side. There was no way she could forgive herself after leaving them behind just like that. She could always come back and visit, but.. they probably wouldn't be here for too much longer themselves, not with the need for starting pokemon hanging over the daycare's head. And besides, there was no getting up from this pile, even with the semester beginning just tomorrow. This kind of sheer adorable was possibly a once in a lifetime thing, unless she just straight up took all these pokemon home with her. But how could a student of all people manage something like that? The most obvious and rational choice was to simply move on and visit until there was nobody left to visit anymore. 

Eh, everyone makes stupid choices in their lifetimes.


End file.
